From rkoenen intertrust.com Mon Mar 4 12:35:24 2002 From: rkoenen intertrust.com (Rob Koenen) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:31 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] EETimes: Picture's fuzzy for DVD Message-ID: <3C124172E7FDD511B510000347426D59187DBC@exchange.epr.com> Some relatively good news about MPEG-4 amidst the licensing turmoil. For media like DVD, the announced license is not too far from MPEG-2 practices, and it doesn't seem to raise controversy. See http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20020301S0091 Will be on our website shortly. Rob -------------------------------------------------------------------- Picture's fuzzy for DVD By Junko Yoshida EE Times March 1, 2024 (3:55 p.m. EST) PARIS - The look of the next generation of digital video disks got harder to call when the DVD Forum's Steering Committee voted this week to approve the use of low-bit-rate compression for high-definition DVD. The DVD Forum's decision, made at a meeting Tuesday (Feb. 26) in Tokyo, to stick with a red-laser-based scheme but switch to low-bit-rate compression, came only a week after nine of the world's biggest electronics companies agreed to promote a blue-laser-based format for next-generation video and computer optical disks. That format, the Blu-ray Disc, was developed outside the forum, but all nine of the initial backers are forum members. Looking to avoid what they say would be a costly shift to blue-laser technology, steering committee member Warner Bros. and other content-production companies are behind the new DVD Forum proposal, which uses low-bit-rate encoding technology such as MPEG-4 to cram 9 Gbytes of high-definition video content onto a two-layer DVD. Blu-ray uses MPEG-2 compression, as does the current DVD standard. A single-sided 12-cm Blu-ray Disc would store 27 Gbytes of computer data, record 13 hours of broadcast TV or hold two hours' worth of high-definition video. Of the 17 companies that sit on the DVD Forum steering committee, 11 approved the low-bit-rate encoding approach. The remaining six - including Matsushita, JVC and Philips - reportedly abstained. The nine steering committee members backing the Blu-ray Disc are Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Pioneer, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, Sony and Thomson Multimedia. Aside from Warner Bros., the other committee members are IBM, Intel, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), JVC, Mitsubishi, NEC and Toshiba. It is clear that the DVD Forum did not arrive at its decision this past week without some pain. Sources disagreed not only on what the vote meant but even on what had been decided. Some sources involved in the developments insisted that they saw no contradictions in pursuing both blue-laser and low-bit-rate approaches. "I don't think it's confusing. It's only natural" to pursue both paths, since both encoding and blue-laser technologies continue to evolve, said Jan Oosterveld, a member of the Philips group management committee responsible for corporate strategy. Blu-ray is a recording format for real-time interlaced TV programs, including HDTV programming, while low-bit-rate encoding is positioned as a prerecorded HD-DVD playback format for movies, said Chris Buma, program manager for A/V disk recording at Philips. "We don't see Blu-ray as replacing DVD; rather, it complements the next-generation DVD format." Buma added that the steering committee's decision to go with low-bit-rate encoding - as low as 7 Mbits/second - would not necessarily preclude the use of blue lasers in the future. Difficult distinctions But an industry observer who spoke on the condition of anonymity warned that industry efforts to draw distinctions between playback and recording formats, while helping some companies rationalize their technology decisions, might confound consumers seeking to make sense of the new standards. "It all depends on the timing," the source said. If Blu-ray-based recorders come to market sometime next year, consumers will likely expect [those] recorders to be able to play back a prerecorded Warner Bros. HD-DVD movie disk based on MPEG-4." The industry thus walks a fine line between advancing DVD performance and fragmenting what to date has been an aggressively robust market for DVD disks and equipment. The use of blue-laser technology is a natural fit for the many consumer electronics companies worldwide that have already invested heavily in its development. Further, some companies would like to see the use of MPEG-2 compression continue in the new-generation disks to provide continuity with the current DVD standard. But the world is also full of new ideas for lower-bit-rate encoding, including wavelet, MPEG-4 and such proprietary codecs as Microsoft Corp.'s Corona. The DVD Forum's technical working group has already proved that encoding rates as low as 7 Mbits/s will yield HD video of acceptable quality. And one movie studio executive argued that while MPEG-2 continuity would be desirable, switching to blue-laser technology to achieve it would involve a "very costly" overhaul of disk-manufacturing operations that would jack up the price of DVD disks and equipment to levels unlikely to be accepted in the marketplace. Philips' Oosterveld declined to discuss blue-laser costs but did acknowledge that the technique "would be far more costly than the current red laser." Conclusions vary To complicate matters, while Warner Bros.' low-bit-rate proposal got the nod this week, those who attended the Tuesday meeting apparently came away with varying conclusions about what would be the forum's chosen technology for low-bit-rate encoding. Some said the steering committee had moved to back MPEG-4. Others asserted that no clear decision had emerged about whether to use MPEG-4 or an improved version of MPEG-2 - MPEG-2 Main Profile @ High Level for HD Encoding - integrated with pre- and post-processing capabilities. Philips demonstrated the latter approach in December at the forum's technical working group meeting. "We are still in the starting phase," Philips' Buma said about the codec discussions. "We are far from coming to a decision" on a definitive compression scheme. "We are not interested in a low-bit-rate encoding shootout," said a Japanese senior executive who asked not to be identified. The executive said forum members have seen demos of a number of encoding technologies, including a wavelet-compressed HD-DVD movie. "We want to test further how either MPEG-4 or an improved version of MPEG-2 would eventually fare at 7 Mbits or lower," the source said. Given the strong representation of consumer electronics companies on the steering committee roster, the door is likely closed to proprietary schemes like Microsoft's Windows Media codec, code-named Corona. The decision will likely boil down to MPEG-4 vs. the souped-up MPEG-2 variant. Progress continues Several DVD Forum members said they have been pleasantly surprised, every time the two MPEG standards have been reviewed and compared, to find that both approaches have continued to make marked progress. "It's remarkable what an increased computational processing power can do to pre- and post-processing of video images," the Japanese executive said of the MPEG-2 version tweaked for high-definition video. "Once you clean up images by filtering before encoding, you can really squeeze a lot onto a disk without changing the fundamental encoding algorithm." On the other hand, MPEG-4's object-based coding capabilities open the door to the interactive applications for DVD. Object-based coding can also be used to allocate more bits for certain objects - such as a fast-moving object within a frame - thereby improving coding efficiency. "One can use advanced motion-detection filters for that," said another executive who works for a Japanese consumer electronics company. Although the first Japanese source said the forum intends to decide on a low-bit-rate scheme within three months, the DVD Forum's tendency to require "further study" before every crucial decision could open the door to the Blu-ray Disc. Blu-ray prototypes have been demonstrated by Philips, Sony and Panasonic. Licensing for manufacture is expected to start in a couple of months. Although Blu-ray promoters have refused to say when they plan to ship Blu-ray based systems, the first recorders could hit the market next year, some observers said. Oosterveld, reach this past week, called the recent unveiling of the Blu-ray Disc agreement in Tokyo a "technology announcement." "Everyone knows that blue-laser technology exists," he said. "We've decided that it's best to announce our technology agreement early on, in order to avoid confusion and speculation." In the meantime, he said, Philips will "continue to focus on promoting our DVD+RW." The low-bit-rate camp believes its approach will benefit nearly everyone involved in the DVD industry. "Hollywood studios can repurpose their content one more time for HD-DVD, without making a costly investment in brand-new replication equipment based on a blue laser," said a U.S. executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Further, as Chinese companies make strides in DVD players at the expense of Japanese and European companies, the inventors of the DVD standard are seeking ways to protect their margins and differentiate their products from Chinese imports. The U.S. executive claimed a switch to blue-laser equipment would make advanced players prohibitively costly, whereas a red-laser-based player that could handle both MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 decoding would carry a palatable retail premium of $25 to $50. ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: rkoenen@intertrust.com EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8QYL.bAl7Rl Or send an email to: OpenDTV-unsubscribe@topica.com T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ From peter.lewis upperside.fr Wed Mar 6 15:48:18 2002 From: peter.lewis upperside.fr (Peter Lewis) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:31 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] MPEG-4 Congress Message-ID: <008a01c1c51d$f4aebba0$1901a8c0@oleane.com> Will MPEG-4 become the broadband content delivery standard ? The challenge is to avoid the duplication of contents for different platforms (TV, wireless, Internet). But will operators be able to provide MPEG-4 services ? The MPEG-4 Congress, to take place in Paris, France, from April 23 to 26, 2002 will bring answers and enlightenment to these questions. All details at: http://www.upperside.fr/mpeg42001/mpeg42001intro.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/news/attachments/20020306/6e00ade9/attachment.html From schirlin us.ibm.com Mon Mar 18 08:29:16 2002 From: schirlin us.ibm.com (Peter Schirling) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:31 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] Press Release - MPEG Committee Jeju Island, Korea 18 March Message-ID: Ladies and Gentlemen, Please find attached the Press Release of the MPEG committee's meeting held 11-15 March 2002 (See attached file: W4567(Press Release).doc) Thank you, Pete Schirling Head of Delegation US NB Digital Media Standards IBM Research Division Office: +1 802 769 6123/Mobile: +1 802 238 2036/E-Fax: +1 802 769 7362 Internet e-mail: schirlin@us.ibm.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: W4567(Press Release).doc Type: application/msword Size: 55296 bytes Desc: not available Url : /pipermail/news/attachments/20020318/fcb489c8/W4567PressRelease.bin From JKling inventures.com Wed Mar 20 17:54:14 2002 From: JKling inventures.com (Jennifer Kling) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:31 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] M4IF Action and Activity Message-ID: All, There is a lot of activity taking place with the M4IF. Below are important dates to mark on your calendar and act on. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. WEMP4, JUNE 25-27, 2002 - SAN JOSE, CA USA ACTION DATE: MARCH 26, 2024 FOR TECHNICAL PAPER SUBMISSION http://www.mpeg4.engr.scu.edu/papers.html It's coming! Co-sponsored with IEEE, this year's WEMP4 will have more exhibitors and more focus on tutorials. Currently planned tutorials include: * MPEG-4 Systems Basics * MPEG-4 Audio * MPEG-4 Visual Basics * FGS and Advanced Simple * AFX * JVT * IPMP * Streaming with MPEG-4 * Broadcasting with MPEG-4 We have extended the deadline for accepting technical papers to MARCH 26, 2002. Papers can be submitted at http://www.mpeg4.engr.scu.edu/papers.html. To register to attend, visit: http://www.m4if.org/wemp2002/registration_form_attendees.php . If your company would like to exhibit, you may do so online at: http://www.m4if.org/wemp2002/abstractreg.php . Also, if your company would like to be a financial contributor in support of a social function or the proceedings book for WEMP4, please contact Jennifer Kling (jkling@inventures.com ) by APRIL 30, 2002. NAB, APRIL 8-11, 2002 - LAS VEGAS, NV USA ACTION DATE: MARCH 29 FOR BOOTH DUTY (jkling@inventures.com ) M4IF will be exhibiting jointly with ISMA at NAB. The booth number is S8456/S8356. If you would be interested in helping support M4IF by working in the booth for a couple of hours during the show, please contact Jennifer Kling (jkling@inventures.com ) by MARCH 29 with your availability so that you can be worked into the booth duty schedule. STREAMING MEDIA WEST, APRIL 23-26, 2002 - LOS ANGELES, CA USA ACTION DATE: MARCH 29, 2024 FOR DEMO PARTICIPATION (jkling@inventures.com ) M4IF has a 10' x 20' booth reserved. Any members that would like to show a demo in the booth should contact Jennifer Kling (jkling@inventures.com ) by MARCH 29 so that there is ample time to make all the necessary preparations. Also, M4IF President, Rob Koenen will be giving a Keynote Presentation during the conference. Both NAB and Streaming Media are excellent opportunities for M4IF and its members to gain recognition in the industry. Make sure you are a part of it! OPEN MEETING TO DISCUSS LICENSING ISSUES, MAY 3, 2024 - FAIRFAX, VA USA MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Location: Hyatt Fairlakes This meeting takes place the Friday prior to the MPEG Meeting taking place at the same location. The licensing discussion is open to both M4IF members and non-members. As everyone knows, this is a hot topic! You will want to be there to contribute! There will be a nominal fee to attend. Registration will be available on the M4IF web site this week. M4IF MEMBER MEETING, JUNE 23-24, 2002 - SAN JOSE, CA USA MARK YOUR CALENDAR! The 9th Meeting will take place at the San Jose Fairmont prior to WEMP4. Sunday June 23 will be a half day meeting for the Marketing and Interoperability workgroups. Monday June 24 will be a full day members only meeting. Registration on the web site will be available this week. If you are not already an M4IF member, you can visit http://www.m4if.org/join.php for information on how to join. Regards, Jennifer ___________________________________________________ Jennifer D. Kling Events Manager - MPEG-4 Industry Forum Global Inventures 2694 Bishop Drive, Suite 275 San Ramon, CA 94583 Tel: 925.275.6671 Fax: 925.889.2064 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/news/attachments/20020320/19e974dd/attachment.html From RXH dolby.com Tue Mar 26 08:25:36 2002 From: RXH dolby.com (Haidamus, Ramzi) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:31 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] Dolby Laboratories announces MPEG-4 AAC licensing program Message-ID: Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: MPEG-4 AAC Press Release - Final.doc Type: application/msword Size: 36864 bytes Desc: not available Url : /pipermail/news/attachments/20020326/2a20c971/MPEG-4AACPressRelease-Final.bin From Events M4IF.org Tue Mar 26 15:00:15 2002 From: Events M4IF.org (M4IF Events) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] Streaming Media West 2002 - Featuring the MPEG-4 Forum Message-ID: Streaming Media West 2002 ? Featuring the MPEG-4 Forum The MPEG-4 Industry Forum has partnered with Streaming Media, Inc. to form a special MPEG-4 track at the Streaming Media West event in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 25 and provide members with special member discounts. We encourage your company to send representation to this event. The MPEG-4 sessions provide attendees with the opportunity for Q & A with the international experts, a technical overview and an introduction to products that can be employed now. The sessions offer essential information for all those spending or making money on streaming and digital media and are designed to provide education and information on the current specifications of MPEG-4, guidelines for it?s use, and it?s significance to business. M4IF?s president, Rob Koenen, will start the MPEG-4 track with a keynote speech at 10 a.m., the address will be open to all Streaming Media West and Internet World Spring attendees. Speakers include experts from Dolby Laboratories, Sun Microsystems, Motorola, iVast, Envivio, RealNetworks, Inc., Philips Digital Networks - MP4Net, dicas digital image coding GmbH, InterTrust, PacketVideo, On2, MPEG LA, Blue Falcon Networks, Arbitron, AllCast, Centerspan Communications Corp., ChainCast Networks, Inc., and vTrails Ltd. For more information on the track please visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west/m4if.asp Visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west/registration.asp to register. As a special offer, M4IF members are being extended a special Full Conference Pass price of $795 (a discount of $400) and one-day Conference passes for $395 (a discount of $100) - members should use priority code S3MIF to receive the discount. Additional Details for Streaming Media West 2002, including more member discounts, are as follows: CONFERENCE ? April 23 ? 26 The comprehensive Conference program focuses on the key components in this space: Streaming in the Enterprise, Digital Media and Entertainment, Streaming Applications and Tools and Technology. Use the helpful online Conference planning guide to find sessions that best meet your needs. Register for your Conference pass at http://www.streamingmedia.com/west/registration.asp EXHIBITION http://www.streamingmedia.com/west/exhibition.asp?menu=exhibit> - April 23 ? 26 The Streaming Media West 2002 Exhibition features as the most cutting-edge, industry leading companies showcasing the latest in streaming and digital media advancements. The Exhibition floor is the number one place to learn about leading projects, experience the latest technologies and do business. Attend for FREE with pre-registration (a $50 value) visit www.streamingmedia.com/west/ M4IF Members are also being offered a 10% discount on floor space and meeting rooms at Streaming Media West. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/news/attachments/20020326/8bfa6f9b/attachment.html From rkoenen intertrust.com Tue Mar 26 13:20:41 2002 From: rkoenen intertrust.com (Rob Koenen) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] Dolby Laboratories announces MPEG-4 AAC licensing program Message-ID: <3C124172E7FDD511B510000347426D59AF4F6C@exchange.epr.com> Thanks Ramzi, This is really great news for MPEG-4, and for AAC in general. Combined with the excellent performance of MPEG-4 AAC, these terms go a long way towards getting MPEG-4 AAC established as a universally adopted standard for high quality and high efficiency generic audio compression. I am also pleased to see that the license will be available next month. Of course I still have things on my wish list: MPEG-4 AAC in itself is not a Profile, so a little more work would be needed to be able to get a one-stop license for a true MPEG-4 conformance point. This announcement, however, constitutes a major leap in that direction! Kind Regards, Rob Koenen -----Original Message----- From: Haidamus, Ramzi [mailto:RXH@dolby.com] Sent: Tuesday, MARCH 26, 2024 8:26 To: 'News@lists.m4if.org' Subject: [M4IF News] Dolby Laboratories announces MPEG-4 AAC licensing program Importance: High Dear M4IF members: Attached is a press release from Dolby Laboratories announcing the new MPEG-AAC licensing program. More information will be available at the www.aac-audio.com web site by 9:00am PST. Ramzi Haidamus Dolby Laboratories Inc 100 Potrero Ave San Francisco CA 94103 Direct: (415) 558-0227 Main: (415) 558-0227 www.dolby.com www.aac-audio.com e-mail: rxh@dolby.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/news/attachments/20020326/35b49302/attachment.html From jeffh bisk.com Tue Mar 26 16:53:58 2002 From: jeffh bisk.com (Jeff Handy) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] Dolby Laboratories announces MPEG-4 AAC licensing program Message-ID: <7766C1C51719A44B92C2461F6F0C5A09376351@mail.corp.bisk.com> This is good stuff. Really looking forward to NAB in a couple of weeks to see other "big MPEG-4 news" first hand. Jeff Handy - Senior Digital Media Specialist Bisk Education - Technology Development World Headquarters - Tampa, FL 800-874-7877 x360 jeffh@bisk.com http://www.bisk.com Cleaner Forum COWmunity Leader http://www.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/select_forum.cgi?forum=cleaner -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/news/attachments/20020326/3b52de72/attachment.html From knkneib knk-mpeg.com Wed Mar 27 14:34:22 2002 From: knkneib knk-mpeg.com (Kristine N. Kneib, Ph.D.) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] MPEG-4 for cable Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20020327141844.02316c80@pop3.norton.antivirus> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: e-BOX Release.doc Type: application/msword Size: 39424 bytes Desc: not available Url : /pipermail/news/attachments/20020327/575cba85/e-BOXRelease.bin From dneil bluemetrix.com Thu Mar 28 20:10:23 2002 From: dneil bluemetrix.com (Neil Day) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] MPEG-7 at NAB 2002 Message-ID: <3CA2FA1F.4E2D922@bluemetrix.com> Dear members, Rob kindly invited me to provide the following details about our MPEG-7 exhibit at NAB 2002. Please read herein. The MPEG-7 Alliance will have an exhibit with four organisations at the forthcoming NAB 2002 Show in Las Vegas (April 08-11th). The exhibit booth number is L21429 and is located in the Interactive Pavilion at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). The four participating organisations are 1. Fraunhofer IIS @ NAB: MPEG-7 Scalable Robust Audio Fingerprinting 2. Digital Garage@ NAB: Smoothy?: A Digital Content Management and Distribution Platform 3. Waseda University@ NAB: a. Movie Hunter ?Movie Search Engine-- b. Scene Judge Man ?Video Editing Support System 4. Singingfish @ NAB: End-to-End Interoperation of Audiovisual Metadata using MPEG-7 Many thanks to these 4 organisations for making this possible. Cheers Neil From rkoenen intertrust.com Thu Mar 28 14:44:13 2002 From: rkoenen intertrust.com (Rob Koenen) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] M4IF Press Release concerning MPEG-4 AAC Licensing Message-ID: <3C124172E7FDD511B510000347426D59AF5051@exchange.epr.com> M4IF members and watchers, the following was released earlier today on the wire. M4IF Welcomes MPEG-4 AAC Licensing announcement ----------------------------------------------- License is major step towards widespread adoption of MPEG-4 AAC San Ramon, 28 March 2024 - The MPEG-4 Industry Forum (M4IF) today welcomed the licensing program for MPEG-4 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) patents, that was announced by Dolby Labs on 26 March. The license terms outlined in this program will support broad adoption of ISO/IEC's MPEG-4 AAC in both audiovisual and audio-only applications. MPEG-4 AAC is the best generic audio codec available in the market today. Its consistently excellent performance across all types of audio content makes it preferable to the various proprietary alternatives. MPEG-4 AAC provides coding that is roughly 35-40% more efficient than MPEG-1 Layer III (MP3), which is important when available bandwidth needs to be shared between audio and video bits. "We expect that the terms of the license will allow MPEG-4 AAC to be adopted across markets", said Rob Koenen, President of M4IF. "It is very good to see that the entry barrier for Internet usage is kept very low, as we expect this environment to set the next trend in audio coding." M4IF hopes that this encouraging step will lead to a program that will include essential patents from more patent owners, offering the market easy access to as many licenses needed to implement complete MPEG-4 Profiles as possible. Being able to implement complete Profiles is essential in ensuring interoperability among encoders and decoders from different vendors. Another MPEG-4 licensing program, for MPEG-4 Visual Profiles, was announced in January by MPEG LA. While that announcement has sparked much debate, M4IF remains confident that these licensors will adapt the program to make it suit the needs of all MPEG-4 markets. "While the Visual licensing terms are viable in some markets, such as packaged-media content distribution, there is serious concern about the effect on MPEG-4 adoption in other areas, such as Internet streaming or broadcast", said Koenen. "We expect these concerns to be addressed by licensors, which of course benefit from MPEG-4's widespread acceptance." M4IF recently announced an open discussion forum for all issues that affect the uptake of MPEG-4, licensing being the first discussion topic. The open discussion list is at discuss@lists.m4if.org. Anyone can subscribe at http://www.m4if.org/public/publiclistreg.php. About MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is the interactive coding standard for all digital multimedia platforms. Developed by the "Moving Picture Experts Group" that designed MPEG-2 (the digital television standard), MPEG-1 and MP3. Being object-based and extending beyond video and audio, MPEG-4 supports rich, interactive, standards-based multimedia from low bandwidths to transparent quality. About M4IF M4IF consists of more than 100 companies from diverse industries evenly distributed across North America, Europe and Asia, addressing all MPEG-4 adoption issues that go beyond the charter of ISO/IEC MPEG. Activities of the forum include an interoperability program, certification, several working groups, access to ISO/MPEG committee members, and the 3rd annual Workshop and Exhibition on MPEG-4 from 25-27 June in San Jose, US. More information: http://www.m4if.org Press Contact: Rob Koenen, President M4IF +1 408 823 7512 rob.koenen@m4if.org From MPeters mpegla.com Thu Mar 28 17:09:37 2002 From: MPeters mpegla.com (Michelle Peters) Date: Wed Jul 23 13:58:32 2003 Subject: [M4IF News] M4Visual Patent Portfolio License Press Release Message-ID: <8DDF6652F243A7419BC9BA168417EDDC02A325@oxford.mpegla.com> Larry Horn wanted to make sure that you received a copy of the attached press release issued today on Business Wire. Thank you. Michelle Peters Assistant to the Vice President, Licensing 250 Steele Street Suite 300 Denver, Colorado 80206 303 331.1880 FAX 303 331.1879 NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release CONTACT: Lawrence Horn MPEG LA, LLC 1.301.986.6660 1.301.986.8575 Fax lhorn@mpegla.com Statement Concerning MPEG-4 Visual Patent Portfolio License (Denver, Colorado, US - 28 March 2024) - MPEG LA, LLC today issued the following statement regarding the status of the MPEG-4 Visual Patent Portfolio License: On January 31, 2002, MPEG LA announced that it will offer fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to patents (owned by 18 companies) that are essential to the MPEG-4 Visual (Simple and Core) digital compression standard under a single license to be known as the MPEG-4 Visual Patent Portfolio License and provided an initial overview of the proposed license terms. The actual license agreement is still in development, however, and all terms are subject to change. MPEG LA is pleased by the intense interest in MPEG-4 Visual technology demonstrated by the market in response to the January 31 announcement. We have heard from and responded to many people, and want to thank all of them for taking the time to share their views with us. MPEG LA, the MPEG-4 Visual essential patent owners and prospective MPEG-4 Visual users have been the beneficiaries of a healthy dialogue. This first step in the process has provided a unique opportunity for the marketplace to familiarize itself with the proposed terms and provide feedback and for MPEG LA to clarify the proposed terms and assure their compatibility across various business models. Since details of the license agreement are still in the process of being worked out, these views are important and will be taken into consideration. There are many different views to be considered, however, and ultimately the marketplace will decide the success of the licensing program. It is intended that reasonable royalties will be spread among industry participants on a nondiscriminatory basis across the entire product chain consistent with the expected flow of MPEG-4 video transactions, so that those who can pay will and those who can't pay aren't expected to. For example, the royalties proposed for the use of MPEG-4 video data streaming and downloads to be paid by service providers are tied to remuneration and payable only when service providers or content providers are paid for offering or providing MPEG-4 video. And the application of this principle to various business models continues to be studied. MPEG LA facilitates the adoption of new technologies (e.g., MPEG-4 Video) in the marketplace by making the essential intellectual property rights owned by many patent owners available on fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory terms under a single license. MPEG LA's business relies on the broad acceptance of the license across all market sectors. Therefore, MPEG LA is sensitive to the need to structure a reasonable license consistent with marketplace conditions. To that end, MPEG LA continues to work with the patent owners to assure that the license is responsive to reasonable concerns. MPEG LA will meet with the patent holders again in late April, and will provide further guidance to the marketplace as soon as possible following that meeting. Everyone is working with all speed, but because of the challenge posed by the effort to produce a joint licensing program requiring a consensus among at least 18 different patent owners and the yet undetermined future implementations and applications of the emerging MPEG-4 Visual technology, it will take additional time to complete this process. Meanwhile, in its continuing effort to include as much essential MPEG-4 Visual (Simple and Core) intellectual property as possible in a one-stop license for the convenience of the marketplace, MPEG LA reiterates that any party that believes it has essential patents (Sections 9, 9.1 and 9.2 and Tables 9-1 and 9-2 of ISO\IEC 14496-2 Information Technology - Coding of Audio-Visual Objects - Part 2: Visual) and wishes to join upon successful evaluation, is invited to submit such patents to the independent Patent Evaluator together with a statement confirming its agreement with the objectives and intention to abide by terms and procedures governing the patent submission process, which may be obtained from Lawrence A. Horn, Vice President, Licensing and Business Development, MPEG LA, LLC (lhorn@mpegla.com), phone 1-301-986-6660, fax 1-301-986-8575. ###